A Demon's Carol
by Shadow Storyteller
Summary: Ciel is a bitter business man that will be weighed down by his sins after death. Will three ghosts help him change his ways? AU and T for swearing. Based off of 'A Christmas Carol' and has a hint of CielxDoll. Merry Christmas!
1. A Visit

**Based of of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." I don't own either the book or Kuro.  
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><p>"Sir," a weak voice calls out. "Please, sir!" Feet clad in only strips of cloth bound by cord run after the well-dressed man. Her brown hair whips against her face in the wind as she runs, exposing the horrible mess on the left side of her face where an eye should be. A tin void of coins is clenched in her palm, cold metal biting the skin. "Sir!"<p>

By some miracle, the well dressed gentleman turns around. His glare, terrifying even with only one clear, blue eye, bites the poor beggar worse than the metal. The boyish face does little to dull the gaze. She flinches slightly at his look of disgust, a voice inside her yelling at him for the hypocrite he is. But then, hope ignites in its place. 'His eye is worse then mine. He'll take some pity on me and give me some coin, surly!'

The tin is held out in front of her, arms sticking awkwardly from her too small shirt. "A coin, please, sir?" she asks, the hope inside radiating off with so much power it's a wonder the snow doesn't melt around her.

The tin is swatted from her hand into the snow covered walk way by the man's gloved hand. She can only stare blankly as her brain works to figure out how this situation turned out so different than her expectations. "Get that dirty thing away from me, you filthy beggar." Contempt flies from him as she hurriedly grabs her container and presses it to her flat chest. "If you want money, then do what us humans do and work, slug." One last scowl, and he's off.

Doll crumbles to the ground, shell shocked at being called less than human. Tears spring to her eyes as the insult cuts her deep. Soon, she is weeping bitterly, uncaring of the looks of disgust and pity she receives.

"May ghosts haunt you, you slimy git!" she screams to the fridged air long after the man has disappeared.

+…+

'Stupid beggars!' Ceil Phantomhive thinks savagely as he strolls up to the small toyshop he owns. 'Shrewd slugs that sway the faint hearted with made up stories, or force people into positions that would make them seem heartless if they were to refuse.' His mind flashes back to the genderless thing that had followed him into a part of the street many people gather. Had Ciel possessed any kind bone or ounce of affection for his reputation, he would've given a coin. A small chuckle escapes him. 'Too bad I could care less.'

"Ciel!" He looks up and sees too late the danger that is his 'best friend' blocking his way. "Merry Christmas, you grumpy old scrooge!" Soma stands in front of his shop, clothes a ridiculous clash of red and green. His strange purple hair up in its usual ponytail and dark skin only make him stand out more in the white backdrop. With golden bracelets, it's a wonder he wasn't robbed on the way.

"What's so merry about it?" Ciel grumbles. "And why the bloody hell are you here? Come to borrow money now that you've sunk so low?"

Soma's smile doesn't waver at the tone colder than the snow on the ground. "It doesn't matter how much I have, just that I am happy with the one I love." His golden eyes fill with warmth as he thinks about his loved one, but Ciel scoffs at the moon-eyed look that 'only fools would wear so proudly.'

"Humbug."

The taller man cocks his head to the side. "What? Humbug? Is that a type of insect that hums?" He bounces up and down in a child like way. "You must show me this insect!" Soma demands.

'Stupid Indian. Why does he insist on bothering me? I work with him one time on his toy design and, suddenly, it's like we're family!' He delivers an icy glare. 'Can't he take a hint?'

"Never mind." Soma shakes his head, sending the snow that had built up on top to the ground. "Come visit Agni and I for Christmas Eve. It will be our first time celebrating, and he's making his curry. We'll also wait up for the fat robber in the red suit that leaves instead of taking!"

"Like I would waste my time with you," Ciel scoffs, crossing his arms defiantly. Soma pouts and moves forward from his position in front of the store. 'Just a little more,' the bitter owner thinks silently, as if his thoughts could control the other. 'A little more and I can make a clean break.'

"Why not? I know you'll be alone this year," Soma begins, moving forward to speak deeply with his 'friend.' "No one should be alone on Christmas!" he declares loudly, causing people in the streets to regard him curiously before continuing on.

Ciel glares. "I am." He stomps around the Indian, making sure to kick the snow back onto him as he walks. "You do not know me, nor do I know you." He yanks open the door to Funtom and continues without looking back at Soma. "If you've ever felt a spec of respect for others' wishes, you will keep your distance!"

"Stop!" Soma commands, pointing his finger to the other and standing like royalty. He looks like a village idiot. "You will listen-"

_Slam!_

The Phantomhive sighs and rubs his fingers to his temples before hanging up his coat and hat. His only worker in the original Funtom Company sits diligently at his desk that has somehow become colored like a candy cane, demonstrating once again why he deserves the name 'Joker' Noah. Ciel has long since given up trying to get him to act his age, even though he is the older of the two.

"Ciel~!" Soma whines next to him, pressing his face to the large window displaying toys. "Let me in~! Come on; It's Christmas! Be Merry!"

He can hear Joker's laugh from behind him. "Smile here will be merry when hell freezes over!" he yells, still not looking up from his work, bony hand writing smoothly across the page. Smile is the annoying nickname the man has for his boss.

"Go away!" Ciel yells, snapping closed the shade. He will open it back up in a few minutes as Soma is easily distracted. Keeping the window closed too long could hurt his profits since most will be running around trying to get last minute toys. 'If I'm lucky, that idiot will run into traffic to retrieve a coin, and I'll make some good sales today,' the owner thinks idly.

A chuckle from behind earns another frosty glare. Unique purple eyes with think black lashes that are somewhat covered with shocking red hair stare back good-naturedly. The pen still doesn't pause. "You should be more kind, sir."

Ciel doesn't answer, too busy staring at the bright yellow bowtie gracing the neck of Joker. Well, he's actually staring at all of the completely mismatched clothes. "You look like a mad man."

'I _feel _like a mad man in here,' Joker thinks bitterly. 'This is a toy store! I was expecting joy and candy, not horror and dust bunnies.' Out loud, he responds quite differently. "If I am a mad man, what does that make you for employing me?" He doesn't give him a chance to answer. "The point, sir, is he," a finger is jabbed to the shade, "is probably one of the only people that will ever mourn you if you were to die."

As one can imaigine, Ciel Phantomhive was not the most well liked person in London, even if his store was the most popular. His toys atttactred everyone strong enough that his habit of smiling didn't chase away all who wanted his products. Now, if he were to stay out in the front of the store, we'd have a different story on our hands. Since all sales are left to Joker, well, Funtom has only gained money under the clown's employment. Not that Ciel would ever admit to that.

Ciel smirks at his worker. "And how would you feel?" he challenges with eyebrows raised high.

"Well of course I'd be sad. Who would give me money then?" Joker is very smart under all that clowning; how else would he be able to keep all of his family alive and together? Jobs are as hard to come by as grass in a snowstorm. His paycheck usually pays for dinner. If Ciel dies, the Noahs die with him.

The short Phantomhive opens the shade, relieved to see no pesky Indian waiting for him, yet disappointed to see no corpse in the road. He moves passed his employee without pausing, totally indifferent to his earlier comment, into his back room to count the money he has gained and work on his new toy design. 'Joker is not as stupid as he looks', he muses, however, in the solitude of his back room. The rough sketch sits untouched on his desk as he weighs the pros and cons of making Joker his new partner. Business would boom of word got out he now helped run the store, but Ciel can't have him get a big head...

In the end, Joker is destined to stay at the same desk. After all, if Ciel was to give him a better position, more money would need to be given. God forbid that happens.

+…+

"Sir, may I please talk to you?" Joker asks in an uncharacteristically timid voice as he fiddles with his crazy bowtie, eyes fixed to the floor. The snow from the open door floats in, but he doesn't shiver, already used to extreme cold.

Ciel turns to face him passivly from his position at the door. "Go on."

A dry swallow. "You see, Christmas is coming…and…" Joker hates as he stumbles over his words. He finishes in a hurry. "I'd-like-the-day-off-along-with-a-slight-payraise-to-help-my-family!" He takes a deep breath, and his crimson face reverts to its original pale look.

"No." Quick, precise, and to the point. Just like a knife. It hurts just as much.

Joker feels anger. He has worked for the horrible, bitter man for years and never asked for anything, but at this one small favor, he says 'no?' "But-"

A glare cuts him almost as much as Ciel's voice. "I will not pay you for no work. Here is your usual pay." He drops three precious gold coins into Joker's hand. "You will be here at your usual time. Do I make myself clear?"

Even though Joker towers over his employer, he seems to shrink under his voice. "Yes sir." The door slams loudly, making him flinch in the silence as he gazes sorrowfully at the few coins that could provide a fairly good dinner, but no presents. 'I'll just tell them Dagger told Santa he was good this year, and the fat man died from laughing so hard. They'll believe me, right?' But Joker knew that none of them had believed in Santa for a long, long time.

+…+

'The nerve!' Ciel rants as he briskly walks home, shooting dirty looks to all who dare glance his way. 'I pay him for his work, as you should, and he wants more for free? Ha! It seems I was wrong in thinking he was more than a common fool, much like these other people.' His eyes move to look disgustingly at the other humans blocking the walkway. A child starts to cry. 'At least Alois had sense about him, but it does him no good six feet under.'

Alois Trancy had been the best, if not the most sadistic, business partner Ciel had ever had. His golden hair and light blue eyes attracted all the right attention, causing many women to be draw to the store and leave with a toy the man had found 'charming and wonderful.' Of course, under the beauty was one of the most twisted beings known to man. Had a child ever sneezed on him, he would kick them, or 'it,' as he referd to them. Had a women ever tried to kiss him, it's likely he would've slapped or even blinded the girl.

Ciel goes to the usual tavern for dinner and lets a mood of contentment wash over him as his usual dinner appears before him. His mood lifts even higher as he takes a bite if its new desert: chocolate cake with brownies mixed in topped with rich vanilla icing. He leaves the usual small tip that makes the workers curse his name and moves into the night.

Frozen to the core even in his well-woven coat, Ciel finally makes it to his house, cursing the darkness that had fallen for making the journey harder than it could've been. He fishes the key from his pocket and looks up to the knocker that has always been on the door. But…what? There's a face in the knocker. One with golden hair and light blue eyes.

He stares evenly back, wondering if the workers at the tavern had finally gotten revenge on him by spiking his cake, but the face seems to disappear the harder he looks. Ciel dismisses the experience as he opens the door and walks inside, ignoring the way his blood has run cold. The door is quickly locked behind him, as well as all the windows in the house. The lights, however, are turned off as he walks to his room in the silence that seems more suffocating than comforting tonight.

'It was just because I was reminiscing earlier,' he convinces himself as he changes to his oversized nightshirt used as his nightclothes. 'Alois is buried. I saw it myself! My brain is so worked up from considering Joker as my new partner that it showed me Alois since I was compairing the two.'

A candle is lit instead of a light bulb, as candles are much cheaper, while he finishes locking the door and window leading to his room. He sits the candle next to his bed. When the flame suddenly burst up as if a sudden gust has hit it, Ciel can only think of Alois' ghost being the cause at first. "Humbug," he mutters to himself, grabbing the candle in one hand. What it illuminates makes him almost drop it in surprise.

Alois himself is standing near his bedroom door, purple jacket frayed from weather, white button up missing buttons, and long back pants caked in mud. His golden hair seems pale white, but his eyes hold the madness they had in life. Caged all around his body are broken tea cups, toys with grotesque expressions, keys, moneyboxes, and a large tea box. Ciel can see the pattern on the door through him, as well as the still secure lock.

The first thing that popped to his mind finds its way to the air. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"

Alois fixes him with a look of amazement. "I fucking died. What the bloody hell do you think happened?"

Ciel gives him a glare. "So you are Alois Trancy, my old business partner?" At the ghosts nod, he lets out a laugh. "_Right. _And I'm an Earl of England with a demon for a butler."

The specter sighs as me moves over to the disbelieving male and throws his arms around his neck. The limbs are colder than snow on Ciel's shoulders, but don't sink into his flesh. "Ciel~," Alois breaths dreamily, "you are just as sarcastic, mean, and wise as I remember. You doubt my identity?" The other pales at the ghost's evil look. "Then, do you remember this?" He leans forward, leaving Ciel completely frozen as whether or not he'd been able to push him away. When a tongue licks his ear, however, instincts take over, and he goes right through Alois!

"Hey, don't go inside me like that!" it snaps, turning to stare down the shocked man lying on his stomach. "At least ask permission first!"

An image of a drunk Alois a few years before his death doing the same action snaps to Ciel's mind. 'Oh yeah, that's Alois,' he thinks as he pushes himself to his feet. 'Only he could make something like this so perverted. Or,' he concludes suddenly, 'that cake did get to me.'

"Yes, it's just the cake," he repeats out loud. A finger is pointed accusingly at the ghost. "You are a figment of the drug those workers put in my cake." The look on his face is victorious, like he finally solved the ultimate puzzle. Alois is slightly less enthusiastic.

"All right you piece of dog shit," he intones, voice worse than Ciel's could ever be. "Sit down on your goddamn bed and listen to this mother fucking warning I have to give you. Now!" he screams when the other doesn't immediately take action, making his chains rattle. The candle flares again, casting shadows that the dolls on his chains catch in a nightmare inducing way.

Ciel has never moved so fast in his life.

A noise of annoyance escapes the ghost. "Finally." He gives a glare to the waiting man sitting on his bed. "Now listen good, because I am _not _repeating myself." He waits for Ciel's nod before starting his tale.

"Believe it or not, every human in this world must have his spirit walk, or interact, among other people. Dumb rule, but what can you do?" Alois rolls his eyes. "Thanks to this lovely little rule, if that spirit doesn't do so in life, the poor bastard is forced to do so after they kick the bucket. Apparently, they're supposed to be tortured by the fact that they can see what they could've had but can't now. Honestly, I saw it more as a boring stage of life…until I met him." A sigh of lust escapes Alois as he dances around the room. "His eyes are a cold amber that freezes worthless bugs in their tracks, unsoftend by the glass in front of his gaze. Hair that reminds one of a dark, endless nothing entrancing the living and dead both! And that cold indifference." He claps twice. "_O lé!"_

'So death does make one more literate and wise.' Ciel clears his throat. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"Why the hell would I know?" Alois responds. "Back to my reason for being here." He comes to stand next to Ciel. "No matter how much a yell and rattle my chains, I can't catch his attention. Had chains not held me down, I could've been reborn in the time of my choosing. I could've been near that man." He half-heartedly tugs the chains. "But it is no use."

"Why are you chained in the first place?" Ciel asks, somewhat sore his dead business partner that sounds like a schoolgirl is interrupting his sleep.

"I made this-" Alois begins.

"Then don't complain," Ciel responds.

"-without knowing in life," he finishes with a glare. "Shut up; I'm not done." His chain is fingered as he talks. "It was made link by line, yard by yard. I made it off my own 'free will' and wear it of the same 'free will.' Does it look strange to you, or frighten you?"

The slightly sick look on the living man's face more than answers for him.

"Would you like to know the length of your own solid chain?" Alois asks with a sadistic grin that would make a full-grown man run for mother. "It was as long as my own the years ago I died! Oh, how it chokes you now!" A gleeful laugh resounds in the dim room. "It is truly the most horribly cold thing I have ever seen in my life! Just think, you will be unable to rest while dragging that chain behind you all the while! Your noble shoulders will curl under the weight, and your pride will crumble before you!"

Ciel looked to Alois' own chain that disappeared into the dark, and this blood froze again. To wander the Earth with nothing for eternity wearing a chain longer than that ghost's…there is no need for a hell with a punishment such as this.

Still…

"You must've traveled far in those years."

Alois lets out a cheap laugh. "This chain isn't the only thing that binds me. I am forced to see what others do 'good,' regardless of my own will. I must 'see the life that I wasted' on a daily basis!"

"'Wasted?'" Ciel asks. "But you were a good- okay, somewhat decent- man of business," he observes, starting to think of his own fate.

"Ha!" Alois laughs. "Conning men was _my _business! Mercy and charity was what was supposed to be my business! If I had not been so underhanded, just like you, this chain may have been light enough for me to escape! I could've been someone else!"

A clock echoes in the distance, and Alois cusses. "My time is almost gone, and I have to get this point across. After observing you-"

"Creep," Ciel mutters.

"-for a year," he continues unabashed, "I am here to tell you tonight that there is a chance for you to get away from your wonderfully wicked chain...and that you might want to get that mole checked out. But still, you are one lucky bastard," he mumbles.

"Thanks _so _much," Ciel responds icily. 'This should be easy.'

Alois holds three fingers in front of the eye-patched man's face. "Three spirits will haunt you, each more terrifying than the last."

"I'd rather not," is the other's response as he grabs his covers and curls on his side.

"You'll be stuck with me for all eternity," Alois whispers in his ear.

Ciel sits up fast. "Tell them to come here pronto."

There is a pout on the ghost as it reports, "The first will be here tomorrow at one, and the second will follow suit the next night. The third will arrive at the last stroke of twelve." Alois sighs dramatically. "Remember what has happened here, Ciel, and do not look for me, f-"

"I won't," he waves to the door. "You can leave."

A look with little fire meets his. Alois backs away, the window behind him opening wider with each step as he beckons Ciel over with one of the most serious expressions he has ever seen on the usually smiling or scowling man. He complies out of curiosity.

The window is soon wide open, chill coating the room. The specter holds up his hand to stop Ciel's footsteps so the wails and moans, the curses and the regrets, the sorrows that could crumble an empire and the hopelessness its people would feel as it feel, float in and root themselves in his brain.

It was a sound that, just for a moment, made Ciel Phantomhive's expression give way to naked fear.

Despite the horror, curiosity still wins out. Ever so slowly, he moves to look out the window. Ghosts float into the air, making a eerie light show in the inky night. Everyone moves restlessly and wear chains similar to Alois'. Some are even chained together, such as the triplets with plum hair that pass by. He csn see a woman dressed in a red that showed even after death reaching for a man dying from some unknown disease, yelling how the people around him could save his life. A pitiful wail escapes her as she drifts away, unable to help.

'Remember,' Alois' voice whispers into her ear, curling like smoke into his brain. The lights soon fade along with the noise. It's soon just another night's appearance.

Ciel closes the window and looks for Alois, but he his no longer there. He moves over to his bedroom door after relocking his window to see it's still locked tight. Fatigue and exhaustion crash down on him, and he stumbles over to bed, the invisible world still fresh in his mind.

He collapses onto bed, the covers not even touched before he sleeps.


	2. The Ghost of Christmas Past

Ciel is met with pure darkness when he next opens his eyes. He shifts slightly to find the bed side drawer he should've put the candle on, but whacks his hand of it. He braces for the loud impact the metal holder is sure to make, but sighs in relief when he feels his bed sink slightly as it falls. Carefully, he lights the candle, not to keen to drip wax on his bed. To his shock, the clock in the corner of his room starts to chime not six, seven, or eight times, but _twelve_! He illuminates the clock with his light to double check, but the time still shows 12 o'clock on the dot. It can't be wrong, but Ciel knows he didn't get fall sleep until two. That would be he slept through the whole day!

Last nights events rush him all at once, and the man springs from his bed in a similar fashion a kid would to check for Santa: expectant, yet bracing for the truth inside claiming he wouldn't be there. No people or spirits litter the still cold air. It's as a night should be, silent and void of people. He even goes as far as to stick his whole head out the window to check the emptiness.

'Could it have been a dream?'

The question haunts him all the way back to bed. It chases his mind in circles as the clock changes to a quarter passed…a half passed…fifteen minutes to… _At one, the first ghost will come..._

The clock tower rings again, and no spirit appears. "I knew it was a drug!" Ciel yells, voice drowned in the still tolling bells. However, when the rings stop, a blinding light fills his room. He can hear the windows bang against the side of the walls as they open and blast cold air at him, snuffing out his still lit candle. When Ciel's sight clears, he is met with one of the strangest sights he's ever seen.

His glowing green eyes with fake lasses that have a strange sort of double iris and the cheshire cat grin on his face aren't what surprises or scares Ciel the most. Shocking red hair that looks to burn the air around it and glasses rimmed with red don't either. No, it's the large, red, bloodstained chainsaw held in the ghost's hands. Unlike Alois, this one has no chains around his body, but seems to glow with a soft light that completely off sets its appearance

"Who and what are you?" asks Ciel, voice sounding rather rude in his fright.

The grin changes to a sneer. "Never address a lady like that!" it snaps angrily. "No wonder your bed only holds your own lonesome self every night; women must run at the mention of you! Besides, you should give the Ghost of Christmas Past, Grell for short, more respect, or her chainsaw just might cut through you."

'Grell?' Ciel critically looks the ghost up and down. "I don't remember my past looking quite so…"

"Amazing? Hot? Flaming?" Grell poses with each new adjective.

'Gay.' Figuring that would get him killed, Ciel instead finishes differently. "Unique."

The flaming haired male (?) smiles again, showing pointed teeth Ceil had not noticed before. "Why, thank you!" He comes forward and grasps the other's hand. "Now that we've gotten that behind us, let's go!"

"I'm not going with you," Ciel yells, pulling back at the hand, but it's useless in the iron grip. "Plus, the door is that-oh, no! You wouldn't!" The door way may have been behind them, but the window was in front. "I can't fly; I'm a mortal!"

"Sucks to be you," Grell offers with no pity as he starts rising in the air. Ciel unwillingly follows suit, legs turning to jelly as the open hole draws closer. The night outside seems to turn into a bottomless void to Ciel as his doom draws increasingly near. He closes his eye as he moves over the window… and opens it in front of a very familiar manor.

The length of the building stretches almost out of sight in the vast peacefulness offered by no other houses with in walking distance. The large, well crafted pillars he hasn't seen in years stand proudly beside him, reaching up at height that seemed endless when he had been younger. Small cracks appear in the sturdy walls on front of them, but is still in great condition for its age. A fine layer of snow covers the ground, yet he nor the ghost feel its coldness.

"Woof!" The bark startles Ciel, and causes him to turn around with a delighted expression so rare, people would've sworn on their mother's grave the apocalypse was coming soon if old Phantomhive could make that face.

"Sebastian!" two voices ring out in harmony, one childishly higher than the other, deeper toned one. The window behind them opens and swings right through Grell to reveal a younger, smiling Ciel in a sailor-like suit.

"The nerve of that bratty kid!" Grell huffs, flipping his hair back in a way most associate with women. "Wait…that mangy thing has the same name as my Sebas-chan? I won't allow it!" The rev of a chainsaw fills the air, but the dog and child don't react.

"Are you bloody mad?" Ciel yells. "You can't kill my dog!"

Grell threateningly holds his chainsaw to Ciel's throat. "Correction: It _was_ your dog." He gestures to the manor next to them. "In case the building and child weren't obvious to you, this is the past. It doesn't matter how many times I try to cut that kid or dog. Nothing may happen, but I get a good work out, and my anger has a better outlet than small, furry animals." He stops the spinning blade, but pushes it closer to Ciel's exposed neck so it touches without cutting. "Same goes for you, sadly."

"Ciel!" A woman appears from the same window wearing a simple dress anyone could find in a common store, but it greatly adds to her beauty. Her eyes are see same as the boy's, and her hair is a yellow one can only find in the sun. Her smile could blind a light bulb. In her hands are a towel. "Make sure you dry Sebastian off with this before coming inside; we don't want to give our workers extra work!"

"Okay, mom!" The younger Ciel laughs as his cheek is licked by a rough dog tongue and runs to his mother. Sebastian follows energetically, chasing the child around his mother's skirt. The older Ciel stares longingly at the picture of his mother laughing joyfully.

"Rachel Phantomhive," Grell supplies indifferently, examining his nails as he talks. "She was a kind woman who loved children, but her weak body only allowed her to have one of her own," Grell looks at Ciel, "you. You were the highlight of her life! She read to you, played with you, and yet still had time to help out orphans. There was only one thing in her universe that could ever equal you, her son."

All most on cue, a tall, well-dressed man with black hair appears and watches silently. A small smile makes a few lines around his brown eyes show, but your attention would be too drawn to the beauty mark under his eye to notice. He stands there for no longer than a minute before his son notices his father. "Dad!" He runs to the man and is scooped up to sit near his shoulder. It's easier to tell they are father and sin with their faces both next to each other. "I can run faster than Sebastian!"

"Are you sure he just wasn't letting you win?" the man asks teasingly, making the younger Ciel pout. Rachel comes over a kisses her husband's cheek lightly with a smile.

"Vincent Phantomhive." Grell's voice is still flat. "He was a family man and a loving father. While most fathers pounded all the soft-heartedness out of their children, he was one of the few that let his be however he wanted. Even with papers due the next day, he would stop everything to go spend time with his loving wife and you." A sigh. "They were good people...even at their death."

The ghost snaps his fingers, and the scene becomes replaced instantaneously. The family disappears, replaced with raging flames the same color as Grell's hair. The proud pillars melt in the intense heat, falling to the ground.

"NO!" Ciel runs forward to a smashed window with his arm out stretched...and finds himself outside in a totally different town. He spins around to go back through, but is met with snow covered buildings. "No," he repeats, sinking to the ground as he trembles.

Grell sighs down at the trembling man. "It wouldn't have mattered what you did; it was all in the past-"

"Why?" Ciel asks in a weak voice. "Why?" he asks again, stronger as he surges to his feet and turns to glare at the ghost. "If I couldn't have done anything, why the hell did you show me that horrible sight that haunts me to this day!"

The glowing eyes that seem to know more than a human ever could stare straight into him. "Because that was one of the last times you ever cared for another being on this Earth." He gestures to a structure on the other side of the road. "Do you remember this place?"

Grudge still in place, Ciel walks quickly over to the other side of the road, uncaring of the people passing through him. He peers in as Grell comes up beside him and exclaims, "This is Tanaka's old place! The others and I were apprentice here! And look," he points to an old man with gray hair and a monocle sitting at a desk, "there he is, still alive!"

There's a crash from somewhere in the store. A flustered girl with purple-red hair and giant glasses stumbles into the frame. She apologizes feircely to old Tanaka, but he only smiles kindly at the girl and talks in a voice too quiet for the two outside to hear. Mey Rin quickly moves to the chairs and pushes them against the wall. Another boy with blond hair and baby like green eyes rushes in and helps the girl. Ciel moves forward through the glass so he can add sound to the picture.

"-Bard and Ciel! We need you two to help as well~!" Finny sings loudly. "We need this place cleared out in time for the Christmas Eve party!" A man with a cigar sticking out of the corner of his mouth and blond hair tromps down the stairs, complaining about the light supply of alcohol in a teasing voice. Soon after follows a young man by the name of Ciel.

The floor is quickly cleared out, and people come in. The young daughters of Tanaka come with men flocking behind. Musicians of every level flock to the center of the far wall and begin tuning. People from across town and next door, old couples and young couples, giggling girls and leering boys. All find their way to the magnificent party. Dancing soon begins, followed by cake, and then more dancing. The night and energy are contagious to all! Random strangers come in half way and are welcomed openly. Even the younger Ciel has a small smile on his face as he eats by the refreshment table.

"Ce-il-lu~" a happy voice carries over the noise. Both Ciels turn to see a bubbly girl with blond ringlets bouncing beside her face running towards them. The younger man drops his cake as she slams him into a hug, but he doesn't seem all that upset about it. Elizabeth looks amazing in her Christmas dress, causing both Ciels to blush a deep scarlet. She beams at him. "I knew you'd be eating cake instead of dancing."

The younger Ciel regards her strangely. "You want me to dance with other girls?"

She laughs. "I didn't say that! I just know your personality and comfort zones." Elizabeth grabs his hand. "Come on; let's show them how it's done!"

"E-Elizabeth-"

"It's Lizzy," she scolds lightly.

Ciel sighs. "Fine. Lizzy, I have two left feet and-"

"-would be happy to dance with you, right?" They're standing in the midst of the crowd, but the couples go around them. Some girls shoot knowing looks at Elizabeth as she moves Ciel's hands into position. "I don't care how we look," she whispers, somehow making the moment private in the crowded party, "I just want to spend time with you."They start off with the next dance, soon lost in the crowd.

The older Ciel is entranced by the mood soon, and talks about people he hasn't seen in years. He talks to himself more than Grell, pointing out 'good old Mr. Wordsmith' or 'creepy Baron,' and has a somewhat happy smile on his face as well.

"It's foolish, isn't it?" asks Grell after Ciel has finally come back from memory lane. At his questioning look, he elaborates. "The food is hardly five star, and the room is lower class. The musicians are no where near perfect, yet everyone has so much gratitude to that wrinkly old man over there. It's a small matter in their lives that will soon be forgotten."

"'Soon forgotten?'" yells Ciel indignantly. "Tanaka's parties are still remembered even in my time!"

Grell fixes him with a stare. "You forgot, didn't you?" He snaps his fingers once again, location changing from the jolliness of the part to the silence of Ciel's store. An older couple near the peck of life are alone in the room, silently looking to each other. Elizabeth has tears in her eyes.

"Ciel, I can no longer stay here!" she cries, voice seeming to echo in the room of toys. "You have changed!"

"Of course I have changed." There is a slight tone of annoyance in his voice has he talks, not taking his eyes from the stuffed rabbit he's inspecting. "Humans change, but my feelings for you have not." He finally puts down the toy and looks to the green eyes shining in the light.

"Really? Are you so sure?" Her voice is barley more than a whisper. "I have watched all your noble dreams fall to your growing greed and cruelty until all that remains are none."

He snorts. "Merely a child's goals."

"Have you forgotten how we were just children when we made our promise?" Elizabeth shouts, tears flowing even faster. "Have you forgotten how we planned to slowly gain our money and live happily? You were different back then!"

"I was a boy!" Ciel yells impatiently.

"And I was a girl with no money, yet you married me!" Elizabeth defends. She takes a deep breath before continuing. "Maybe we should separate as you wish."

"I have never said I wanted to leave!"

"You didn't have to!" She gestures to the shop. "You attitude showed in your work as well. As time when on, they went from amazing to passable enough to parade as toys. Your emotions mirror them. My guess is if we were to meet now, you would skip over me to marry a girl with money, not personality!" Ciel's mouth works in the air, but nothing comes out. Elizabeth turns her back to him. "You and I both know the answer. I will leave you and hope that somewhere, in your heart, you will feel actual emotion for my absence, but we know that you will quickly dismiss me from your mind and focus back on your work." The door is flung open, and she casts one more fleeting glance to her ex-husband. "My live give you happiness, Ciel."

"Good after her!" The older Ciel looks away as the other begins to weep openly, but doesn't move after Elizabeth. "Please...take me home..."

"No can do. My time is almost up, but we have time for one more stop." Ciel stumbles away from the ghost's sadistic grin but can't hide as the scene shifts.

The room isn't very large or clean, but has an atmosphere of comfort to it. Near a fire is a girl that looks so much like Elizabeth that Ciel mistook her until he registered the other, older woman that was the original. Noise strong enough to cause an earthquake echo in the room as each child makes the amount of noise equivalent to ten. He expects someone to say something, but the mother and daughter continue to laugh and chat in their position near the fire. Ciel feels a sting of longing in his heart at the scene, wondering what his life would be like with little feet pounding on _his_ floor. True, he is still in the middle stages of life in which it isn't too late for him, yet due to this reputation, the chances are zero to none.

His longing only doubles when gifts are brought home by the father. Each child treats the wrapped boxes as if thry're a gift from the savor himself! Every gift is met with either a shout of victory or a groan of defeat when socks appear. The father is soon met with an avalanche of kids as they hug him in gratitude and scamper off to play.

"Guess who I saw today?" Elizabeth's husband asks as he kisses his wife's cheek.

She laughs happily, making Ciel flinch slightly. "Oh, I don't know."

"Why, it was Mr. Phantomhive! He was working late, even with his partner ready to die." He shakes his head in amazement. "Ain't he a hard worker, or is he just alone?"

Ciel turns his back and glares at Grell. "Take me back," he yells, "or make them change!"

Grell smiles at him, pointed teeth glowing in the firelight. "This is the past; it can never be changed. Just as your family is forever gone, this event is forever in history." But he snaps his fingers, not appearing by Ciel as his bedroom comes into sight. Exhausted in heart and mind, he doesn't even bother to move from in front of the window before passing out.


	3. The Ghost of Christmas Present

This time, Ciel awakens at eleven. His body is chilled to the bone from not having any other cover besides his nightshirt, and his stomach is grumbling loudly. The window is closed, but not locked, and no light streams in from the glass.

Ciel stands to lock the window then changes into his normal clothes. He sets out soon after for a late dinner, looking as he always does physically. Mentally, it's all he can do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. His heart is still morning over the sight of Elizabeth with her new family. A family that has no room for Ciel Phantomhive.

"Sir!" Dazed, Ciel ends up stopping a looking at the voice, brain to preoccupied to notice the familiar voice. "Sir, I know you'ra slimy git, but I nee' money real bad fo' my fam'ly."

'It's that beggar from yesterday!' In her hand is the same cup he had knocked out of her hand the day before. She still has on the same ratty clothes. Her expression is one of determination, but Ciel notices her paleness that makes the freckles on her face pop out. "I told you before, I'm not giving you money." 'I have a reputation to protect.'

"But-"

_Growl~_

Both freeze as their stomachs protest for food at the same time. Doll recovers first, blushing as she hugs her stomach with her arms. Her pride looks to be smashed into pieces at this display of weakness.

"Is your family starving?" Ciel asks before he even realizes the thought passes his mind. The concern in his voice and the shocked look of the beggar makes him visibly wince. "I mean…" he trails off uncomfortably.

She regards him through her hair. "We're just fine," is the curt reply. "Big Brother Joker gots a job at that Funtom place, so food is fine. It's just…I want ta get 'em presents from Santa."

Her face burns as Ciel gets a sick feeling in his gut. '"Big Brother Joker?" Why is my luck so rotten? At least she hasn't recognized me yet.' Doll's stomach growls, and something clicks in his mind. "Have you been saving money by not eating?"

"No!" Her response is too quick to be true. Ciel scowls, grabs her hand holding the cup, and drags her kicking and screaming into his usual tavern. "What are ya doin'?"

"Getting you some food!" he snaps, finally releasing her as they reach his usual table. He pulls out his chair and looks, not glares, at her expectantly, wondering if she'll actually sit down or not.

She does, if somewhat cautiously, eyeing Ciel all the while. The waiter comes and takes their order, but there's no talking after this.

Doll stares into space beside her, thinking. 'What can he get out of this? I look nothing like a proper lady, let alone a girl. Heck, the day before yesterday he called me a slug, but now he's giving me dinner?'

"This Funtom company your brother works for," Ciel starts, making her jump, "what's his boss like?" 'What does he say about me at their house?'

She studies him. "He can't get'cha a job, but I'll tell ya anyway." Ciel notices her manner of talking as cleaned up some now that she isn't begging. "Joker usually comes home in a decent mood from work, but durin' the first week and kept askin' Big Sis Beast how a toy store fo' children could be so lifeless. He ain't one to complain about people, and don't complain about Phantomhive much, but he does say he'd be a right okay guy if he grew a heart."

The food comea, and Doll wastea no time in eating. Ciel can't even get anymore questions in during her frenzy. "You're paying, right?" she asks, finishing her last bite of chicken.

Ciel rolls his eyes and sets down the money before getting up and making a move to leave. The giant clock outside had rung twelve a good while ago, and he doesn't want to be late for a ghost.

"Wait!" Ciel doesn't pause as he hears the girl run up to him and put her hand on his shoulder "What's your name? I'm gonna have ta pat you back some way!"

"What's yours?" He knows very well beggars never give names; it makes it too easy to find their families. 'Come on, I need to get home!'

"Doll, but me friends call me Freckles." She moves in front of him and holds out her hand.

Ciel slowly takes it and walks away quickly, making sure to have a decent running start if she decides to pull anything. "I'm Ciel Phantomhive," he tells her over his shoulder.

To say Doll is shocked would be an understatement. Her jaw unhinges as she watches her brother's boss, who Joker ranted was heartless just the other day and treated her to dinner today, walk away without looking back.

+…+

Ciel opens his bedroom door right as the bell chimes one and almost has a heart attack.

A thick cloud of smoke covers the air, its sickly-sweet aroma making Ciel sneeze. All along his flat surfaces are barley dressed women with their eyes turned to a pair on his bed.

"Come in," purrs the man, "and enjoy my humble abode."

Ciel's eye twitches. "I think I'll stay outside, were people have morals."

The ghost laughs. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, or Lau." He squeezes the woman sitting on his lap tighter. "This is my sister, Ran Mao. Say hello." She blinks.

His eyes first take in the doll-like girl on the man's lap as he draws closer. Her long hair is done up into long braids and has a pink flower with a golden decoration. Golden eyes look at him impassively as she shifts, causing her short shirt to rid up slightly. 'Her chest…let's move on to the man!'

Ciel can't see his eyes that are unblocked by the ghost's short black hair due to them being closed. His long, green rob is the color of grass outside, but not nearly as inviting due to the smirk on his face as his hands lay around the girl's middle. Both are transparent and have a Chinese look about them.

"You have never seen someone like me, huh?" asks Lau.

"Never," Ciel agrees flatly.

He removes one hand from his 'sister' and gestures to the others in the room. "Have you met my family?"

"N-not really."

"There are more than eight hundred!" Lau brags.

Ciel blinks. 'That's a lot to provide for.'

Ran Mao rises with Lau and extends her hand forward. Ciel studies her as his mind flashes back to Freckles. "She doesn't bite…much." He ignores the lewd ghost and grasps Ran Mao's hand.

The smoke around them begins to swirl closer, enclosing them. Lau and Ran Mao stand still, but Ciel frantically looks around for a way out, the smoke reminding him of fire and death. Suddenly, it disperses and leaves them in front of an old, beat up house.

"Sorry," Lau starts, grabbing Ran Mao as she lets go of Ciel. "I am present, not past, and forgot about your little…incident."

'I can hardly call losing my eye and family in a fire an incident,' the man thinks angrily, but he keeps his opinions to himself as he takes in all the Christmas decorations and the people exiting a church near by. A tall man with two children, a boy and a girl, sitting on his shoulders stands out from the crowd and makes their way towards them.

"Jumbo! Peter! Wendy!" a voice yells from behind them. "Hurry up so we can eat! Dinner's gettin' cold an' I ain't waitin' anymore!" Ciel looks behind him to see a woman with a bust to rival Ran Mao. Her dark brown hair is crazy curly, and her eyes are an exotic red.

"Sorry, Beast," the tall one says, letting down the two children before he squats in under the door.

Ciel follows in, keeping an eye on Beast as his mind works. 'Where have I heard that name before?' He yells when he nearly runs into a girl with plates and gasps as he recognizes her. "Freckles?" His voice is unheard as she sets the plates down and welcomes the three home. Ciel is able to put the names to people as they talk.

A young, slim male with half bleached hair who keeps flirting with Beast is Dagger. He's flamboyant, loud, and somewhat endearing with his puppy dog look every time Beast knocks him down. About four knives sit at his hip, but no one seems concerned.

A silent man with almost translucent skin that looks like a snake's is called Snake. His hair is white as snow with a cowlick, and he has more than a few snakes sitting near him. Just like with the daggers, no one seems to care.

Jumbo is large with tattoos winding all around his body. He's very quiet, but everyone listens when he talks. The little boy that was sitting on his shoulder is Peter. His temper is worse than Ciel's has ever been, but he seems relaxed around Wendy. Wendy is the little girl that was sitting on Jumbo as well, but her attitude is the opposite of Peter's. Those three seem to stick together as they move around the room.

"Yes, the family of Noah," Lau draws out. "Such a pitiful bunch when it comes to money, but family and kindness is a different matter completely."

Joker bursts in suddenly, smiling happily as he catches a whiff of the food that had been started about an hour ago. He gives Beast a quick wink, and moves over to were Freckles is curled up by the fire, shivering despite the heat.

"Did you go out begging again?" he asks with disappointment clear on his face.

She smiles sadly and whispers, "I just want everyone ta have a proper Christmas this year." The girl talks slowly, doing her best to imitate Joker's speech. "I want to give 'em all presents for once, and you work too hard enough as it is. I need ta do something, too."

Joker rubs her head. "You should be looking for a guy, not begging in the streets in over-sized clothing." Freckles blushes red at the mention of a husband, but smiles at his head pat. "You're very pretty, and I'd hate to see ya cut down because of some illness ya get out in the cold."

She snorts at his pretty comment and stares into the fire, but looks up when a delectable aroma fills the air. All stomachs, including the ghosts in the room, growl as Beast brings forward a chicken that should be just enough to feed everyone. All scramble for the table. A few elbows go into stomachs, a few curses are made, and a few whacks to the head to shut up as well, but everyone finds a place at the table.

No one said grace; they all just grabbed at the table. Ciel notices Freckles is still shaking, but does her best to grab food. He also doesn't miss the openings her family gives her to grab food instead of just handing it to her. Joker hands her a little bag clearing containing medicine before she eats. Freckles makes a face, but downs them anyway.

Soon, a cake too small for the large family is brought out, but no one makes any comment. Joker happily exclaims his opinion, making Beast blush as she sits next to him. On his other side is Freckles, close to him in a father/daughter way as if Joker is afraid she'll just disappear. Much to Ciel's amusement, they're family mantra seems to be "God screwed us, everyone!" Looking at the mismatched people, that certainly summed it up.

"Lau, what will happen it Freckles?" Ciel asks, pretending to be indifferent.

He smiles. "I see an empty space at Joker's side."

The man feverishly shakes his head, not loosing eye contact with the girl. "Say she will be spared!" A laugh full of life lights up her face as a warm drink is passed around, as each one able to have their own share for once.

"If the present stays the same, so will the future. But," Lau's eyes open to cold slits, "isn't it better the slug dies?" Ciel flinches.

Joker rises to his feet and claps his hands. "Cheers to old Phantomhive, the founder of our feast!"

Beast and a few others snort. "I wish I could meet him and give him a peace of my mind. 'Feast?' Ha!" She spats to the side, missing a mooning Dagger. "You're clearly overworked and underpaid!"

"Beast," he warns, "it's Christmas."

"'I thought it was Hanukah!' says Wilde."

Beast lightly whacks. "Tell Wilde to stop being a smart-ass! It will be Judgment Day before I toast to that lonely, greedily, self-serving bastard! I'll drink for you and the family, not him!"

Joker sighs, but downs his drink anyway. Everyone follows suit, letting the dark cloud hang for only a moment before once again raising their spirits.

"Ciel ain't as much of a dick as you made him out to be," Freckles reports softly as Joker sits back down.

Lau leads Ciel away before he can even realize what was said. "Next stop~!"

The man, still in a daze, snaps out of it half way to their next destination and rips his hand from the ghost's grasp. "Where are we going?" he demands.

"We going somewhere so horribly foul your working eye will wish it was blind," Lau starts in a creepy voice. "Emotions you have forgotten about will swirl in you until you burst!"

Gulping mentally as Ran Mao grabs his hand, Ciel follows silently. They stop at a house like any other, better than the Noahs', worse than Ciel's.

"So here's where we're going~!" Lau exclaims in a sing song voice.

"You didn't know?" Ciel yells, rounding on him. He turns back to the window they're peeking through, however, when loud laughter comes from the glass. Curious, Ciel moves inside to see Harold West barking out his laugh. His wife, Meena, his cousin, Damian, Agni, and Soma all sit in a circle.

"-he keeps going on with 'humbug' this or 'humbug' that! He believed it all, too!" He wipes the tears from his eyes. "At least his offenses will have a good punishment."

Meena laughs along with her husband, pretty mouth curling to a sneer. "Is he not rich, though?" she mocks.

Harold continues with, "What good does that do? He doesn't live in comfort, doesn't do any good with it, and heaven knows no one can buyout the devil."

"I have no patience for him," Meena sniffs.

"I do," interjects Soma softly, "and I'm sorry for him. I can't be angry if I tried. He's alone, always by himself. He won't even eat with us."

Agni pats Soma's shoulder and gives him a warm smile. "It's his loss." Soma opens his mouth to say something, but thinks better. "What?" urges Agni.

"I was going to say that his punishment for not having a good time is that he looses some pleasant moments that can do him no harm. I'm positive he losses better friends than he can find in his own mind, or old office, or empty house. I will give him the same chance every year," vows Soma, "whether he likes it or not. I pity him. He can hate Christmas and me till he dies, but I can't think of what could help- or defy- him better than being there, year after year, asking how he is. If he'd give his poor clerk just a little more, that's something, and I think I may have shook him yesterday!"

They laugh at the mention of shaking the almighty Phantomhive, but, since most were kind, they really didn't care what they laughed at if it would only encourage their joy.

Games are soon going, and Ciel finds himself chuckling along.

"Here's to Ciel!" yells Soma suddenly. "He may be a stuck up old humbug, but he's _my _stuck up old humbug!"

"Here!"

Ciel is lead away by Lau slowly into a deserted street. "My time grows short, Earl, but there is something I must show you, if only to screw your wavering heart more."

Lau and Ran Mao point to two young boys. Both were ragged, scowling, and wolfish. One even had a skull! Their faces has an old look to them such young children shouldn't ever have. Where innocence should have been, there was demons, hungry and evil. There was no hint of humanity in either.

Ciel is disgusted at the utter lack of life. "Are they ghosts?" he chocks out.

"Oh no, they're man, and they cling to those ghosts that help, appealing from their fathers. The taller is Ignorance, and the one holding the skull is Want. You should fear them both, but keep an eye on the taller. Doom sits in his eyes unless he is denied!"

"Don't they have anywhere to go?" asks Ciel.

Lau gives him another slited glance. "Are there no prisons or workhouses?" The bell strikes twelve.

Ciel blinks and looses sight of Lau. As the last ring fades, the warning of Alois comes back, and, looking around, he sees a tall figure moving through a thick mist to him.


	4. The Ghost of Christmas Future

The phantom-like figure slowly draws closer to Ciel. It's tall and thin, but he can make out no other features; the Phantom was covered from head to toe in a cloak. Mist swirls around it like a snake, caressing its invisible legs affectionately.

"You are the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?" The Phantom doesn't answer, but points to his right. "Am I going to see that which will happen in the future if nothing changes?" The cloth over where a head would be caves in for a moment, as if it has nodded his head. Ciel receives no further answer.

Inside, the man is shaking, but he keeps his legs steady as he waits for the silent ghost to make a move. 'Fear,' he realizes, 'this is fear.' He could _feel _the Phantom's eyes on him, but could see nothing in the emptiness of the darkness covering its face. Somehow, it was more terrifying than looking Death in the eye. At least then you know what to expect.

Ciel gestures for the spirit to move after nothing happens for several moments. "Well, lead on." the Phantom makes no sound as is flows back the way it came with the man following behind. Even his cloak doesn't make the usual _swish_ sound of fabric rubbing against fabric when it moves with the rising fog.

Soon, the fog morphs slowly into the city. Merchants still move about, and people still go on their way to no where. Ciel sees no difference between future and present, but moves towards two business man that the ghost is pointing to.

"-dead as a doorknob!" a bald man exclaims to his companion.

"Really?" asks the other, hat held to his head by his hand. "When?"

"I think last night. Heard it was a nasty asthma attack." Baldy sniffs. "Thought that sucker would never die!"

"What's being done with his money?" asks the man with a hat greedily.

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is I'm not getting any! He must have family somewhere."

Ciel looks questioningly to the Phantom, but it's now pointing to more people. The man moves forward, cautious of the hooded figure no in his sight, and recognizes the people he's directed to. They're businessmen as well, some Ciel has made deals with in the past.

"How are you?" asks the first.

"Fine," the other shrugs. "How are you?"

"I just heard Old Scratch is finally on his way to meet the devil."

The other nods. "I've heard as well. Bit cold, huh?"

The first nods. "It's fitting for Christmas. Good day."

Ciel's surprised he was told to listen to such common conversations. In fact, he's had some almost identical to them daily. Of course, he knows the Phantom wouldn't send he to listen if there was no hidden meaning. 'Maybe is has something to do with Alois? ...No, this is the Ghost of Christmas Future. It's possible my future self could shed some light,' he musses.

Ciel looks around for someone resembling him, but can't find anyone remotely similar to him in the place he usually stands at this time of day.

A cold shiver runs down Ciel's spine, making him spin around to face the Phantom. Though he can't see its eyes, he can feel the hungry gaze as it gestures for him to follow.

He's lead to a less crowded part of town, a place Ciel has never cared to walk through before but knew as having a bad reputation. The shops and houses are tilted; the people stumble around almost naked in their drunkenness, faces ugly in their current half conscious state. Even as a transparent visitor, the horrible stench of waste and foul torture his nose. If crime had a stench, it would have made him double over from the overwhelming magnitude of it.

Far into the area there's a small shop below a penthouse roof where bones, skulls, old rags, bottles, beakers with questionable items floating in it, and iron is bought. All along the floor inside are random keys rusted nails, hinges, files, weights, chains, and scales of all kinds. Secrets that could bring down a nation are cleverly hidden within the scattered piles of rags, bones, and iron. Running the store is a… _peculiar_ man with long gray hair covering his eyes. A scar stretches across his face as well as his neck and pinky. Long black fingernails that look like claws grace who people call Undertaker's hands. A long black top hat and scarf complete his crazy look, making the poor Noahs' outfits look like a rich man's.

Ciel and the ghost enter into Undertaker's store along with a woman carrying a big bundle. Not a minute passes when another woman comes in with a symmetrical bundle. The two exchange looks of shock as they recognize each other and start to laugh softly.

"I see you have…trinkets for me," says Undertaker in a singsong voice after the women fall silent. "Come with me."

They are lead behind a screen of rags to a sitting area with a small fire. The woman who had entered first begins by throwing her bundle to the floor in a bravo fashion, looking with defiance lost on the Undertaker. "Trinkets indeed," she fumes. "You know well what these are! Everyone has a right to look out for themselves. He always did."

The other woman nods from her position on an old chair. "No one more than him," she agrees.

"Besides, he won't miss these a bit. How can the dead care? Hell, if he'd have had anyone to take care of him when he was hit, he would be enjoying these right now," she continues fiercely. As the woman talks, it becomes more and more like she's defending herself against an unseen jury. "But, no, he was alone by himself."

"Judgment," the other in the room states flatly. "I wish it had been heavier, and it should've been! Open that bundle now, Undertaker, so we can finally know its worth."

There isn't much, just a pencil-case, a pair of sleeve-buttons, a an old brooch with no real value. They are appraised by Undertaker, who quickly does the easy math in his head and writes it up on the wall.

"That's all~" sings Undertaker, "no more, no less. Next." His long nails tenderly pick up the other's bundle and unwraps it. A large, heavy roll of a dark…something comes out. "Bed curtains?"

"Yes," the woman laughs.

Undertaker crackles madly. "Do you mean to say these were taken down, rings and all, by you as he laid there?"

"Why not?"

"Why, you were born to make a fortune!"

The woman sniffs. "Why shouldn't I take it when I can simply get it by reaching out? Plus, it belonged to a man such as him, causing me no guilt at all. Make sure not to drop the oil on the blankets," she finishes firmly.

"His blankets as well?" laughs Undertaker.

"It's not like he'll catch a cold." She nods to the blanket. "You can look as hard as you like, but you won't find a hole or thread out of place. It's the best he had, and they were about to waste the beauty!"

"What do you call waste?"

She crosses her arms and replies, "Burying him in it, of course! Someone was dumb enough to do it, but I took it off again."

Ciel listens in naked horror as they discuss the prizes by the fire's light. "Phantom," he says as shudders rack his body, "I understand. This case could very well turn into my own. What the bloody hell?" he screams suddenly as the scene changes to a bedroom without a curtain. On top is a ragged sheet covering up something. It's dark as well, way to black to see anything clearly. Ciel still glances around, trying to find what kind of room it is. An orb of light appears above the bed and falls into the bed as if its strings were cut. It illuminates the body of a man.

From the corner of his eye, Ciel can see the Phantom pointing to the head that the cover is carelessly thrown over. A slight motion on the cover will cause it to show the face, and the very thought drives the man forward with his curiosity.

This is death. This cold, rigid corpse that has no heart beat or feelings or movement belongs in death's hellish domain.

No one speaks these words to Ciel, but they are heard by him clearly as he looks down at the man laying in an empty, dark house with no man, woman, or child to tell of his memory. No one to speak of his worth or humor. The sound of rats are heard under the floor, restless to enter the room with death's scent.

"Spirit," forces out Ciel, "if we are to leave, this lesson will still stay. Let me dwell here no longer."

The Phantom keeps his finger pointed to the head.

Ciel nods. "I understand, and would remove the cover if I could, but can't bring myself to do so. May we go find anyone who feels for him?" he asks.

The ghost waves his cloak to show a family connected to the man by a debt and is saddened only by their own misfortune in his passing.

"I meant more of a…tender feeling."

Ciel is lead through several streets he's seen daily, but can't find anywhere to pinpoint his location. They soon enter Joker's house to find everyone seated around the fire. A polluted silence fills the house as Dagger, Peter, and Jumbo sit in the corner as still as statues. Snake sits reading while Beast and Wendy sew old clothes.

"'And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them' reads Emily."

Ciel watches Snake for him to go on, but he doesn't continue. 'Why?"

Beast sets down the pants she'd been working on a rubs a hand over her dull eyes. "It hurts."

The color. Oh, Doll…

"They feel better," reports Beast suddenly. "Even if they grow weak due ta the horrible lightin' of the candle, I ain't showin' Joker weak eyes. He'll be home soon."

"A little past when he should be," answers Snake, shutting the book. "He has been walking slower lately the past couple evenings," pause, "says Emily."

Silence again. At last, Beast breaks I will a happy voice only breaking once. "I remember he used to walk so fast when- when Doll was there with 'im."

"'Me too!' cries Emily," cries Snake.

"And me!" yells Wendy.

Beast continues. "but Doll was so hyper 'n happy that he had no problem keepin' up. He loved her, so it was no problem ta him at all. Oh, there he is," she finishes flatly, hurrying to meet him.

Joker comes in looking haggard. His tea is already done and waiting, and he sits down with it around the fire as well. Wendy moves over to him, telling him 'Not to mind' and 'Don't be sad.' Joker turns cheerful around them, and talks pleasantly to everyone, but his heart doesn't seem to be in it. He also comments on how quickly the clothes are being repaired and that they'll surly be done by Sunday.

"You went today, then?" asks Beast.

Joker nods. "I wish you could've come. It was so green, and would've cheered you up. Still, you'll see it a lot; I promised we would walk there on a Sunday. Our Doll," Joker cries. "Our little Freckles!" He breaks down without the consent of his mind. He can't help it.

Joker leaves the room and moves to a room above where an empty bed with signs of someone being there recently where obvious. He sits down on the bed and composes himself. Once sure he's fine, he goes back down happy.

They all sit around the fire, talking as Beast and Wendy finish up. Joker talks about Soma and how kind he was to him. "He seemed sad, but was one of the most polite, if not energetic, people I've ever talked to. 'I'm sorry,' he said to me, 'and hope your wonderful family gets by their loss.'" Joker frowns. "I wonder how he knew that."

Beast frowns. "Knew what?"

Joker beams at her, making her blush and hurriedly look down. "That my family was so wonderful.

"Everyone knows that," exclaims Peter.

"And they should!" cries Joker. "'Let me know if I can help,' he says, giving me an old card. 'That's my address. Come see me sometime.' Soma seemed so kind as he said it, like he saw me as an equal!"

"He sounds great!" pipes up Wendy.

Joker nudges Snake lightly. "Maybe he can set you up with a nice girl." The poor boy's pale checks turn red as the red head sighs dramatically. "Soon, you'll be leaving us," He grows somewhat somber, "but don't forget Doll, who left before anyone."

"Never!" yells Dagger. "It's impossible ta forget that boyish girl wi' so many freckles on her face she insisted ta be Freckles instead a Doll! Followed most 'round like a little pup, but stayed closest ta Joker here."

All draw closer together, like trying to find happiness in each other and fill the hole left behind.

Ciel feels a ping as the death of Freckles is confirmed, but turns to the Phantom. "We are done soon, right?" He searches the hood of the specter, but can't find anything to focus on. "Tell me who the man lying dead was."

The ghost says nothing, but leads Ciel out of the house. This time, the man is able to find his location. "This is the way to my shop. I wonder what I'm like in this time."

The Phantom stops, Funtom in sight, but its hand points somewhere else.

"That's not my shop; it's over there." Disgruntled, Ciel moves to peer into his office window, but sees someone in his chair that looks nothing like him. The ghost's finger doesn't move from its spot. Not know what else to do, the man follows the path of the finger until an iron gate stands in front of him.

A graveyard.

'Here is were that man must be buried. I will finally know his face!' It was clear this place was not well taken care of. Ciel briskly moves passed grave markers over ground with grass and weeds, taking care not to step on top of someone's grave, least some hand grabs him.

The Phantom has moved ahead of him and is pointing to one marker. Ciel moves forward, body trembling in foreboding.

He swallows thickly. "Tell me, are these the things that _will be_ or _may be_?" He gets no answer, but can sense the smirk under the hood. "Tell me if this can change!" Still, its finger doesn't waver.

Slowly, the human moves towards the grave, legs not as steady as he would like. His heart stops when he reads the name of the stone:

Ciel Phantomhive.

"It was me!" he exclaims. "The rats were waiting to eat me!"

The finger points to him then back to the grave.

"No!" he screams. "I'm not who I was! I won't be this sorry excuse for a man! Why would you show me this if I have no hope?" The finger is dropped to the side of the ghost as it watches Ciel. "Tell me I can change this!"

A horrible mocking laugh sounds from the hood as it drops back to reveal a man with sinful beauty not of this world. Red eyes that can stare into any soul pierce Ciel, and raven hair frames his handsome face. A smirk that sends dread into Ciel's being sits on his lips.

"A man's actions leads to certain events that will lead to destruction. But, aren't all humans moving to their destruction?" The ghost sits on Ciel's grave stone. "A man may be able to get off his course…for awhile. Can you really change, young master?" The pure mirth put into 'young master' was heavy enough to kill a horse.

"Yes! I will keep the lessons close to my heart and live in the past, present, and future! Please tell me I can move my name from this stone!"

"This is impossible. All humans will die, and you're name will end up on a stone just like this." The Phantom strokes the marker lovingly. "It's only a matter of when. You may try to change your nature," red eyes fix on his face, "but can you?"

The challenge hangs in cold air as the area starts spinning like a demented merry-go-round. Faster and faster, until Ciel reaches out to clutch something, anything, to keep from falling. Skin grabs wood, and the Phantom disperses to nothing, leaving Ciel alone as he clutches a bedpost so hard that blood runs down his hands.


	5. A New Beginning

Yes, he was grasping his own bedpost in his own room. Yes, the Phantom with the cocky smile has gone. Yes, he has time to make amends and live. "I will keep the lessons close to my heart and live in the past, present, and future," Ciel slowly repeats.

Those red eyes, taunting, flash in his mind. His smirk daring him to change.

"_You may try to change your nature, but can you?"_

Ciel grits his teeth and runs to the window, thrusting it open to let December air into his room. "I _will _prove you wrong, you demon!" he screams out to the air, uncaring if the ghost could hear him or not. People do, and give him odd looks. Softer, he whispers, "Thank you, Alois, Grell, Lau."

He shuts the window gently and turns back to his bed that, thankfully, holds no dead body. Even his bed curtains are where they should be. Ciel moves passed it, pausing at the door Alois had appeared through before moving to his closet to get dressed for the day.

Ciel quickly picks more casual clothes than he usually does, but pays very little attention as he thinks back to old stories about people meeting spirits. 'How much time has passed?' He hurries his task along. Once done, he briskly makes his way outside, stopping only once to make sure his eye patch is secure.

Outside has never seemed so amazing to Ciel. Every bell that used to give him a headache now is music, every voice that had caused him annoyance now join in with the bell melody, and every life holds new meaning. With the sun shining free onto the street, it was as though he's a new born discovering the world again.

To the side of the street was a boy dressed for Christmas mass, looking very uncomfortable in the nice clothes. "What is today?" Ciel inquires to him.

The boy looks at him like he's lost a few screws. "It's Christmas!"

'So I haven't missed it! Is this my first test?' "Do you know the butcher on the side of town?"

The boy's face lights up. "The one that threatens the kids with his weird invention…what was it?" His face scrunches up in thought before smoothing out. "His lawn mower!"

Ciel nods. "Smart boy," he observes. "Have they sold the old turkey that could feed an army?"

"The one my size?"

"Yes, that's the one!"

The child beams. "Still hanging in the window."

"Good. Go buy it." Of course, his demand is met with suspicion. "Tell you what," Ciel squats down so he's face to face with the boy, grudgingly realizing he doesn't have to stoop too far, "bring the man- Ronald, right?- back with you so I can give him directions and I'll give you a whole coin. Two if you come back in less than five minutes." The kid couldn't have moved faster if he was shot out of a canon.

'It will go to Joker.' Inwardly, Ciel smirks. "I can just imagine the slack jawed look when they get a turkey double the size and weight of Peter.'

He moves back inside to retrieve a piece of paper and write down the address. He moves back outside to wait for Ronald and catches sight of the knocker that had held Alois' face. Ciel holds back his first instinct to burn it and instead resolves to keep t well polished as an offering of thanks.

"Wow!" the one eyed man yells as he fixes his attention on the large turkey now in front of him. 'There was no way that animal had been able to stand,' he thinks dryly, looking at the massive amount of fat even Santa would envy. "There's no way you can carry that the whole way there!" Ciel quickly calls a cab, pays for the cab and pays the boy as promised.

He moves forward into the city, never once glaring, but never randomly smiling at people. Changes don't happen in one or even two nights, but Ciel still receives strange looks for the people used to their day glare. A brave man collecting donations for a children's shelter even went as far as to wish him a Merry Christmas.

Ciel nods back. "A Merry Christmas to you, too." He stops and moves to stand beside the man as an equal. "I'm sorry for how I have treated you in the past and would like to donate," he tells him bluntly.

To say the collector is shocked would be an understatement. "H-how much?" Ciel thinks for a moment before whispering the sum in his ear. "That much!" cries the man.

"Not a penny less," declares Ciel with a nod.

The man grasps Ciel's hand and feverishly shakes it up and down. "I don't know how to thank you! I don't even know what to say!"

The other shakes his head as his hand is released. "No thanks needed, just make sure those kids stay well." 'Emotionally and physically,' he adds silently.

Ciel walks down to the church and walks around the streets, watching other lives for once instead of his. He sees cherished children with an innocent look he himself hasn't possessed in years as they're patted lovingly on the head. He watches the beggars he would've spat on not three days earlier as hope flickers and dies every time someone gives them a kind glace. Many don't give more than their free sympathy. He looks up to see people staring into open air, daydreaming about another life, another day, a better future. Amazingly, Ciel feels a sense of peace around him.

In the afternoon, he found his feet brought him to Soma's. Ciel doesn't know if this is were he planed to end up or if he'd simply wandered there, but he still walks up to the door to knock.

A tall Indian man with long, white hair wrapped in a turban answers the door. He's tall, making Ciel seem even shorter, and has a kind of 'gentle giant' feel to his demeanor. One of his hands are wrapped up in bandages. Still, he smiles kindly down at Ciel. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was invited here by Soma," Ciel begins.

The older male's eyes light up. "You must be Ciel!" He shakes the one eyed man's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Agni! Nice to finally met you!" He steps aside. "Please, come in."

They make their way to the dinning room, Agni almost skipping in joy that his lover's best friend has taken up the offer to eat with them and relived he'd made extra curry.

"Soma, " Agni calls softly into the dinning room, keeping the door closed enough so Ciel isn't visible yet. "Someone's here to eat with us."

Soma, who'd been playing with his fork glumly as he waited for Agni, turns his attention to him with curiosity plain on his face. "Who?" When he sees Ciel, the fork falls to the table as he leaps up from the chair and hugs him. "You came!"

Ciel, who looks very uncomfortable at being touched, squirms as he says, "You invited me; it'd be rude no to- why are you crying!"

Soma detaches from him to rub his streaming eyes. "B-because you came to celebrate Christmas with me! I thought an elephant would sooner flatten me!"

"Oh Soma!" yells Agni, crying as well. "I'm so glad you're happy!"

After they calmed down, Ciel soon found himself relaxing, almost smiling once or twice. It became even better when others arrived and games started. Guests were shocked to see him at first, but soon laughed with him as he participated in the games as well. It was, hands down, one of the best times Ciel had ever had.

After it became later, he excused himself to take care of 'some business.' He had passed his shop n the way to Soma's, stopping to tell Joker to go home instead of work like he'd said. Imagine his surprise when a certain red head isn't diligently working at his desk.

Ciel shows up at the Noahs with a look of contempt on his face, planning to make a show of the whole ordeal. For some strange reason, he had paused at a flower store on the way, only to stomp away with mixed feelings. Why would he need flowers if was going to 'yell?'

Joker answers the door with a giant, welcoming smile that quickly deteriorates when he realizes who exactly is on his front step. "Smi-I mean, Mr. Phantomhive." he swallows thickly. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can," growls Ciel going passed him into the house, where all laughter has fallen silent. Freckles is the only one still wearing a smile as she catches sight of Ciel and winks at him from behind Beast. He doesn't respond, but let's his hard line of a mouth soften before turning around to face Joker. "Why were you not at work?"

"You little-!" Peter starts forward, but Joker shoots him a meaningful look before facing Ciel.

"I was spending Christmas with my family," he replies curtly, not at all pleased at the look Doll has on her face as she stares at Ciel. "I'm simply doing my duty."

"'Duty?'" Ciel mocks, raising his eyebrow. "Are you a very responsible man, then?"

Joker smirks. "Yes, sir," he mocks.

"Well then I won't stand for this any longer!" Ciel yells. "Therefore, I'm going to make you my partner and," he continues, not stopping for breath at the collective gasps behind him as well, "give you a raise."

Freckles, followed by Beast, Dagger, Joker, Wendy, and Jumbo all run to Ciel and crush him in a hug while yelling _thank you_'s and _about time_'s. It's just a little too much for him, so he starts wiggling out. The family gets the idea and lets go, but Freckles holds on a little longer than necessary.

It was already nearly midnight when Ciel arrived, so he leaves with a 'Merry Christmas,' promising Freckles he'll come home with Joker and bring dinner, still mindful of the vision predicting her death.

'I won't let her die,' he vows silently.

Ciel is true to his vow. At the first sign of Freckles coughing, she's taken to the doctor. It was the start of a lung infection that would've been fatal in later stages. The treatment who've probably been too expensive for the Noahs to afford, so you can imagine how grateful they all were, most of all the girl who had been saved. Ciel ended up marrying Freckles, much to the amusement/ dismay of Joker. Even though her real name was Doll, Ciel called her Freckles just as she insisted even when her family still refused.

People laughed at the 'soft' Phantomhive, the man who'd became best friends with the town's Indain fool and Joker, but he let them laugh. Why not? He was, after so many years, happy. Not content, not indifferent, but joyful to be alive.

Freckles had once admitted to him she had hoped ghosts would haunt him the first time they met, and Ciel sincerely thanked her. He never again met the spirits, but would sometimes get the feeling red eyes full of disturbing humor watched him, waiting to see if he could disconnect the chains he'd made earlier in life.

_Will you prove me wrong, or will you be dragged to the pits of hell? Ah, that is yet to be decided, hm, Young Master…_

* * *

><p><strong>Yay overdue author's note! Thanks to<strong> music lover LOL **and **Bobismyhero **for reviewin****g this train wreck. I have now realized how hard it is to play off of something so cement. I woud've never guessed it's easier to come up with an original story and write than write a parody of an already done book -_-'**

**Thanks again for reviewing and reading if you actually made it to the end!  
><strong>


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